Palmer is SDSU soccer's dangerous defender

Mike Friesen was watching the U.S. national women’s soccer team play a game not long ago, and the commentators were talking about how the Americans haven’t been able to develop a dynamic player at left back.

The San Diego State coach has a thought for them: They should start taking a serious look at one of his own Aztecs, Haley Palmer.

Fourth-ranked and No. 2 seed San Diego State (20-1-1) hopes to continue an extraordinary season on Friday when it hosts Cal (16-5-5) at 7 p.m. in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs are a team that blends so seamlessly at times that it’s difficult to distinguish one player from another.

Not so when Palmer makes a charging run from her left back position. The 5-feet-9 junior is so fast she can outrun almost everyone, and the ball skills that once made her a formidable striker now serve her incredibly well as a dangerous defender, especially since she is left-footed.

The Mountain West coaches have noticed. In late October, they voted Palmer the conference’s Defender of the Year. Friesen believes she ranks among the best defenders in the nation.

“I think she’s one of the scariest left backs around because of her attacking ability,” he said. “She causes a lot of problems for other teams.”

Game after game this season, Friesen heard raves from other coaches. They tell him Palmer, 20, is a difference-maker, and then ask if she’s getting attention from the leadership at U.S. Soccer. The answer is “not yet,” but Friesen is starting to push that issue. He said he has spoken to April Heinrichs, the technical director for U.S. women’s soccer, about Palmer getting a look for the Under-23 national team.

“The season we’re having gives San Diego State credibility at that level,” Friesen said. “I haven’t recommended players before because they weren’t the right age or I didn’t think they could play at that level. Haley still has some things to work on, but I think she has the ability to play at the next level. She’s probably going to get that chance, and it’s up to her to compete for it.”

What makes Palmer’s success so impressive is the fact she spent most of her youth attacking nets, not defending them. In fact, coaches used to needle her about not doing much to help out on defense.

She was a standout striker in club soccer in Santa Rosa, using her speed to blow by people. Then Friesen, who previously coached club in the area, suggested to Haley’s coach, Dave Schaffer, that he might try her at left back. Friesen had a vested interest, because he already had recruited an outstanding wide forward in Megan Jurado.

When the club’s left back suffered a concussion in the Disney Showcase in Florida, Schaffer sent Palmer in.

“I told him I’d try it, but don’t get mad at me if I let a bunch of goals on my side,” Palmer recalled with a laugh. “I knew there were going to be a lot of college coaches there, and if I did terrible, this could be my chance to not get recruited. But I trusted Dave and thought he was doing it for my best interest. It ended up helping me out a lot.”

Coaches began recruiting Palmer as a left back, but Friesen already was way ahead of them. It didn’t take much to convince her to come to San Diego State, especially when she was arriving at the same time as midfielder Carli Johnson, with whom Palmer had played since she was 12. Johnson won MVP honors in the MW Tournament won by SDSU.

“Those two have really taken off,” Friesen said. “The first couple of years they weren’t as serious as I wanted them to be. They needed to grow, needed to take over their own games. They’ve done a good job this year of making sure they commit to themselves.”

The San Diego State defense – led by Palmer and All-MW second-teamer Rachael McGlinchy – has been a thick wall to breach in recent weeks. In the course of going unbeaten in 14 straight games, the Aztecs have notched five straight shutouts and their streak of not allowing a goal has reached 535 minutes.

“We know that we have a very, very strong back line, but I don’t think we’ve really been able to wrap our heads around how good we are compared to other teams,” Palmer said. “We have pride, but we’re just keeping it as, ‘Just another game; here we go.’ “